Having headed Chelsea into the lead on his return to the team after a four-match ban for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand, Terry had to be carried off on a stretcher shortly before half-time after his leg twisted under the weight of a Luis Suárez challenge.

Terry looked in severe pain and, after leaving Stamford Bridge on Sunday night on crutches and with his knee in a brace, he will be admitted to hospital on Monday for a scan to determine the extent of the damage. Chelsea were unaware if the injury was to Terry’s medial or cruciate ligaments but it was the same knee on which he required keyhole surgery earlier this year.

If Terry has torn his cruciate ligaments, an operation would almost certainly be needed and there would be doubt over whether he could play again this season. Equally, there was some optimism on Sunday night that the injury might only rule Terry out for a few weeks.

Suárez, who was not to blame for the challenge, went on Twitter and Facebook to express his hope that Terry is not badly hurt. “Hugs to Terry, I hope it’s nothing serious,” he said.

Roberto Di Matteo, the Chelsea manager, admitted his “concern” but is retaining hope that the injury will not prove severe. Terry’s season has already been disrupted by his Football Association ban and he was surprisingly dropped by Di Matteo against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League last Wednesday.

Terry was excellent yesterday in the 39 minutes he played, scoring Chelsea’s goal and organising the defence as they initially dominated Liverpool.

“We have to wait until his MRI scan to understand the full extent,” said Di Matteo. “There’s concern. We just got him back into the team after the ban. It was great seeing him out there. We hope it’s not a serious injury, but we’ll see. When a player reacts like that, it’s a concern. He was in pain.

“I was concerned about his well-being. He started the game very good, showing the qualities he has, and the experience and influence. We hope it’s not long-term.”

Chelsea certainly lost their rhythm after Terry’s injury and, in drawing 1-1, have now gone three Premier League games without a win. From having the chance to go seven points clear of Manchester United at the top of the table 15 days ago, they are now four points behind Sir Alex Ferguson’s team.

Di Matteo is adamant that Chelsea do have sufficient centre-back cover in Gary Cahill, David Luiz and Branislav Ivanovic to cope without Terry but his presence has clearly been missed over the past month. Chelsea will also be acutely aware that this is the stage of the year at which their form has significantly faltered in three out of the past four seasons. Di Matteo, though, remains encouraged by the team’s performances and is confident that they have retained momentum with dramatic recent wins in the Capital One Cup and Champions League.

“We’re in much better shape than in previous years, and very close to our best,” said Di Matteo. “We’re still in the mix. But the amount of games you play in this period has some kind of effect.

“I think we’re still in a good momentum. We won in the League Cup against Manchester United, an incredible game, and in midweek in the Champions League, a massive game for us. It’s just been in the league, with today and the United game which was a real blow with the way it happened.

“United came here, we had two sent off and they scored an offside winner. We’re still playing well and creating chances. We need to be a bit more clinical, to take our chances and finish the game off.”

The overwhelming frustration yesterday was certainly Chelsea’s failure to add to their early lead, with Fernando Torres, Juan Mata and Oscar all missing good chances to put the game beyond Liverpool.

“We missed opportunities,” said Di Matteo. “It was a poor goal to concede. We had our man-marking the opposition and Ramires was with Suarez. There was a push in his back to create the space for himself. Sometimes the refs notice. Sometimes they don’t. It’s one of those.”

As well as Terry’s injury, Di Matteo is also awaiting news on David Luiz (tonsillitis), Ashley Cole (hamstring) and Frank Lampard (calf). Luiz and Cole could return against West Bromwich Albion next Saturday but Lampard is likely to need another week.